GIANT defender Martin Taylor today warned his Rovers colleagues 'I won't give up my shirt without a fight' as he set his sights on becoming a first team regular with the term.

Manager Graeme Souness provided Taylor with the perfect opportunity to stake a claim for a regular starting spot by selecting him ahead of more experienced candidates for Saturday's Premiership opener against Sunderland at Ewood.

And the England Under 21 international responded with a towering performance alongside Craig Short as Rovers kept a clean sheet to reinforce the belief that he could be in line for a major role over the next nine months.

"This is a big season for me," said Taylor. "I've got the chance, I'm in the team now, and I've got to keep my performances up for the rest of the season.

"I'm not a young professional anymore, I'm 22 now, and I've got to be pushing on and trying to play in as many games as I possibly can.

"That was the first time I've played in the first game of the season and it was a great confidence booster to be involved.

"We've got a good squad here now and everyone knows that they are going to play a part at some point during the season.

"But for me, personally, I've just got to try and maintain a certain level of performance so I can feature as much as possible."

With Short, Henning Berg, Johansson and new-boy Andy Todd also competing for places at the back, Taylor knows he cannot afford to let his standards slip.

However, he will also be encouraged by Souness's pledge that those who are already in possession of a first team shirt will keep them for as long as they continue to produce the goods when it matters.

"I don't think the game has changed that much since I was a player so I think if I was playing really well on a Saturday and then got left out on the Wednesday there wouldn't be much left of the manager's door," said Souness.

"So I'll work on the principle that if you've got the shirt then it will be you who loses it.

"If you have a rotation system where's the incentive for anyone who's maybe been on the fringes to say 'right, I'm going to do well and if I do then I'll keep my place?'"

Souness has never been afraid to place his trust in young players in the past, having built his team around David Dunn, Damien Duff and Matt Jansen during his two years at the helm.

Now Taylor aims to join that trio by establishing himself as a first team regular in his own right.

And he is quick to acknowledge the debt he owes Souness for the way he has helped him to develop.

"The manager has given me a lot of confidence," said the Rovers defender.

"He helps out all the players, obviously, but he's helped me in particular on certain aspects of my game during pre-season and just to get a start in the first game of the season helps your confidence tremendously."

Now Taylor hopes to keep his place in the side for this weekend's game against Birmingham City at St Andrews.

And he is expecting a hot reception in what will be the Blues' first home game of the new campaign.

"It's going to be another tough one," added Taylor. "They've just come up from the First Division, they've made some good new signings over the summer, and when we played them in the First Division, they were always tough encounters.

"Having said that, we've picked some good results against them in our last couple of meetings so we should be able to take confidence from that."